Hot Water Heater is Whining
#1
05-01-00, 08:15 PM
I noticed that our hot water heater was making a "whistling" or "whining" noise last night. No leaks that I could find, and it stopped making that sound after a couple of minutes. Any idea why it would do that? It's pretty new, probably less than 3 years old. Thanks for your responses.
#4
05-12-00, 07:51 PM
It's not all that uncommon for a water heater to make noise. It has to do with the water chemistry. You can find tech bulletins about it on the Rheem and AO Smith web sites.
UOTE]Originally posted by cohiba:
I noticed that our hot water heater was making a "whistling" or "whining" noise last night. No leaks that I could find, and it stopped making that sound after a couple of minutes. Any idea why it would do that? It's pretty new, probably less than 3 years old. Thanks for your responses.[/QUOTE]
UOTE]Originally posted by cohiba:
I noticed that our hot water heater was making a "whistling" or "whining" noise last night. No leaks that I could find, and it stopped making that sound after a couple of minutes. Any idea why it would do that? It's pretty new, probably less than 3 years old. Thanks for your responses.[/QUOTE]
#5
06-10-00, 07:50 PM
You don't say whether it is gas or electric but, I'll bet it is electric. I'll also bet you have hard water.
When the water is hard, calcium deposits will form on the hottest surfaces in the water heater. In a gas water heater, they will adhere to the bottom. In an electric, they will adhere to the element. Most of the newer water heaters have stainless steel elements and these deposits will simply pop off the element. If the element is copper, the deposits will cause the element to burn out. The sound is caused by steam pockets created between the deposit and the element. There is not much you can do about it. If you could only teach the singing elements to sing something you like, it would better.
When the water is hard, calcium deposits will form on the hottest surfaces in the water heater. In a gas water heater, they will adhere to the bottom. In an electric, they will adhere to the element. Most of the newer water heaters have stainless steel elements and these deposits will simply pop off the element. If the element is copper, the deposits will cause the element to burn out. The sound is caused by steam pockets created between the deposit and the element. There is not much you can do about it. If you could only teach the singing elements to sing something you like, it would better.
